"Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration."Â
-- UNESCO World Heritage Centre
We now have more reason than ever to preserve our architectural heritage. After seven years of campaigning, we had finally succeeded in putting our architectural legacy onto the world's historical and cultural map. Well done!
(Photo source: Thestar.com.my)
Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia) have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.
(Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/450)
Also read "George Town, Malacca named World Heritage sites" - The Malaysian Insider and "Testament to cultural legacy" - The Star.
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